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Renting in Australia and the role of philanthropy

Erin Dolan, Program Manager, Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation Fri, 15 Dec 2023

The state of the housing market has made finding safe, secure and affordable properties increasingly difficult for the near-third of Australians who rent their home. Housing insecurity can lead to homelessness and addressing this most fundamental of needs is the first step to good health, education, employment and an equitable society for all. Renting is not such a precarious option in other countries. What are the political and economic conditions that have led to Australia’s rental crisis and how can philanthropy do more to support renters and drive a systems-level shift? Erin Dolan, Program Manager at the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and Chair of Philanthropy Australia’s Affordable Housing Funders Network, provides her view.

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Australian Leadership Hub launches to answer ‘critical’ need for NFP sector

Louisa Graham, CEO, Australian Leadership Hub Fri, 8 Dec 2023

As pressure mounts on for-purpose organisations, effective leadership is more critical than ever, and the Australian Leadership Hub whose purpose is to develop leaders, is stepping up to deliver what the sector needs most. After 14 years as the Australian Scholarships Foundation, during which we provided 5,000 individuals with scholarships and professional development opportunities worth a staggering $17.2 million, we have now expanded our activities to offer leadership awards, education programs and events. We also build connections among educators, executives, funders and alumni, who partner with us to foster skills that are crucial for organisations dedicated to creating a better society.

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Philanthropy is catalysing phenomenal growth in the social enterprise sector

Tara Anderson, CEO, Social Traders Fri, 10 Nov 2023

The social enterprise format – blending mission and money – is the business model of the future, says Social Traders CEO Tara Anderson. Social Traders is a leading intermediary connecting social enterprises with business and government to grow the social procurement sector and offers Australia's only social enterprise certification. To celebrate Social Enterprise Day on 16 November, Tara outlines how Australia is experiencing the fastest and largest social enterprise procurement growth anywhere in the world – and philanthropy is fuelling the momentum. 

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Why charities need robust cybersecurity now

Dr Omaru Maruatona, CEO, Aiculus Fri, 3 Nov 2023

When a cybersecurity breach exposes confidential data such as customer personal details, sponsors and donors data and funding details, there will be significant consequences whether the victim is a large profit-making business or a small charity.

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Five questions to consider when scaling for impact

Social Ventures Australia Fri, 27 Oct 2023

Dr Neela Saldanha, Executive Director, Yale Research Initiative on Innovation & Scale (Y-RISE), visited Australia at the invitation of Social Ventures Australia to give the keynote address at SVA’s summit on impact at scale. She explained why successful pilots often don’t achieve the same results ‘at scale’ and provided questions to consider when expanding a change program. These issues will be explored further in the upcoming sold-out Replication and Scale event hosted by Philanthropy Australia and Zurich Insurance Group.  

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The case for global giving has never been more compelling, says the Australian International Development Network 

Mark Cubit (pictured), Emily Umbers and Hannah McNicol, Australian International Development Network Fri, 20 Oct 2023

From responding to urgent humanitarian needs to increasingly interconnected global issues, to greater ‘bang for your buck’, this blog from Australian International Development Network (AIDN) highlights the opportunities of global giving. The piece explores why all Australian donors should consider adding international giving to their portfolio. In other articles in the series, available from AIDN, the organisation calls for a breakdown of the barriers challenging our outbound giving and explores first steps for donors. This article is authored by Mark Cubit (pictured), Emily Umbers and Hannah McNicol.

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We must invest in communities to save lives as natural disasters become more frequent

Sam Henderson, CEO, Northern Rivers Community Foundation Thu, 28 Sep 2023

We need to shift towards a building community resilience and social capital, to better equip communities to respond to floods, fires and other catastrophes.

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